Check out the Moscow that never was -- but might have been, if Stalin had gotten his way.The architectural designs are in the City Beautiful vein, typical of egotistical rulers and their capital city makeovers. So yeah, there's that Daniel Burnham/Chicago vibe, replete with ultrawidescreen plazas and monumental buildings. And because it was the 1930s, you get some classicism mixed in with Hugh Ferris pulp science-fiction. But then, on top of all that you'll see some indomitable socialist modernism, the same stuff you can see in Revolutionary avant-gardism. Architecture was always a part of that artistic movement, expressing similar freedom of form and technological optimism. At least, that's how the art always looks to me.
Crazy constructvism and futurism and suprematism all tried to find inspiration in the giant machines driving the Industrial Revolution. You never would have wanted to live in one of these cities, or go to work in one of these buildings, unless you were Batman.
Or would you? I totally get the feeling of pride that comes from walking around an impressive city. Not to go all September-11 on you, but I remember taking the elevator to the top of the World Trade Center, to the observation deck, to check out a chess tournament back when I was working for Newsweek. The elevator doors opened just a few feet back from a floor-to-ceiling window -- I don't even remember which direction it faced. But my first reaction when those doors opened was a wave of vertigo, and an exclaimed "holy shit!"
Human-scaled cities. New urbanism. Walkable shopping streets. Parks. Cities integrated into the natural environment. You know I'm down with the program.
But cities -- and more precisely, skyscrapers -- are some of the best things people make, collaborative programmatic performance art. They are fists we shake at the sky. They scream at the universe, like Steve McQueen floating on the coconuts at the end of Papillon: "I'm still here, you bastards!"
That's the Revolution talking.

Trump Administration Could Effectively End Housing Voucher Program
Federal officials are eyeing major cuts to the Section 8 program that helps millions of low-income households pay rent.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Ken Jennings Launches Transit Web Series
The Jeopardy champ wants you to ride public transit.

Crime Continues to Drop on Philly, San Francisco Transit Systems
SEPTA and BART both saw significant declines in violent crime in the first quarter of 2025.

How South LA Green Spaces Power Community Health and Hope
Green spaces like South L.A. Wetlands Park are helping South Los Angeles residents promote healthy lifestyles, build community, and advocate for improvements that reflect local needs in historically underserved neighborhoods.

Sacramento Plans ‘Quick-Build’ Road Safety Projects
The city wants to accelerate small-scale safety improvements that use low-cost equipment to make an impact at dangerous intersections.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Ada County Highway District
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
